1857 | Music
Music
Opera: Giulia Grisi, now 45, reappears at the Théâtre des Italiens, Paris, 1/11 after a long absence, singing the role of Leonora in the 1853 Verdi opera Il Trovatore; Simon Boccanegra 3/12 at Venice's Teatro la Fenice, with music by Giuseppe Verdi to a libretto based on history concerning Genoa's first doge (who served from 1339 to 1344). The opera is a failure and will not be successful until 1881, when it will be given a new libretto by Arrigo Boito.
Composer Mihail Ivanovich Glinka dies at Berlin February 15 at age 52.
First performances: Piano Concerto in A major and Symphonic Poem No. 1 (Ce qu'on entend sur la montagne, after Victor Hugo) by Franz Liszt 1/7 at Weimar's Grand Ducal Palace; Sonata in B minor by Franz Liszt 1/22 at Berlin, with pianist Hans von Bülow, who marries Liszt's daughter Cosima, 19, August 18; the Faust Symphony in Three Characters (after Goethe) by Liszt 9/5 at Weimar's Grand Ducal Palace; Symphony to Dante's Divine Comedy by Liszt 11/7 at Dresden; The Battle of the Huns (Die Hunnenschlacht) symphonic poem by Liszt 12/29 at Weimar.
England's Hallé Orchestra is founded at Manchester by German-born pianist-conductor Charles (originally Carl) Hallé, 38, who fled to England to escape the revolution in 1848, became conductor of the Gentlemen's Concerts at Manchester 2 years later, organizes the orchestra for Manchester's Art Treasures Exhibition, and will give regular concert performances beginning next year.
The Philadelphia Academy of Music opens at the corner of Broad and Locust Streets in a building designed by Napoleon Le Brun and C. Runge (see Philadelphia Orchestra, 1900).
Hymn: "We Three Kings of Orient" by English-born U.S. clergyman John Henry Hopkins, Jr., 37.
Popular song: "Jingle Bells" ("One-Horse Open Sleigh") by Boston composer James Pierpont, 35.